Comments: Founded in 1857, RUCO Druckfarben/A.M. Ramp & Co. GmbH has a strong presence in the screen, pad, UV dry offset, flexo and gravure printing inks. The company has a sizable share of the export market, with more than 55% of its sales coming from outside of Germany.

Higher raw material costs are impacting the entire ink industry. At RUCO Druckfarben, raw materials make up approximately 50% of the costs of its ink. In May 2013, RUCO Druckfarben announced that raw material pricing pressures may cause the company to increase its own prices later in the year.

“There is hardly any potential left where we can further enhance our material productivity and optimize our products and purchasing processes. Even though we emphatically continue to advance our internal measures, we can no longer rule out the possibility that we may be forced to pass on future cost increases to a certain extent,” said Jürgen Schmidkunz, chief operating officer at RUCO.

RUCO Druckfarben named Helmut Junginger as its new director global business in May 2012. A 20-year ink industry veteran, Mr. Junginger also joined RUCO’s board of directors.

RUCO Druckfarben is highly regarded for its environmental awareness and quality. The company introduced series 965UV-MA low-migration inks, 945UV-MA UV screen printing inks and 080UV-MA series of dry offset printing inks. The company is also developing LED-curable inks and a new generation of eco-friendly pad printing inks.

Ink series 080UV-MA was developed for dry offset printing on the outside of plastic cups made of polyolefins (PE/PP) and polystyrene. These inks offer low migration levels and conform to the stringent requirements specified by food company Nestlé.

At LabelExpo India 2012, RUCO highlighted its“3 in 1” system for combination printing: UVFX/MA flexo ink series, 985UV/NV high-speed rotary screen inks and series 960UV lacquers. In May 2013, the company launched its ready-to-use 900UV1437 opaque white ink to its label portfolio. It can be applied by UV screen and UV flexo printing.